Flying home

I am sitting at Wimpy's at the airport (they have wi-fi) and reflecting on my two weeks in S. Africa.  Impressions that rise up are many:  the severely disabled children (mostly suffering from cerebral palsy) at Silgobile in their stand up high chairs, laughing and enjoying the story told and sung with gusto by their black caregiver.  The caring for these children with so many needs deeply touched my heart.  The laughing face of Eric the ranger at Chapungu (Thorny Bush) as he talked with Aubrey the spotter  and as he teased me comes to mind.  I am impressed by his excellence of knowledge and by how much he cared for all the wildlife, but especially the rhinos (when we briefly saw the biggest male rhino, he wrote the coordinates on his hand so he could pass on the specific location ).   The extreme contrast between the luxury I experienced as a white visitor and the extreme poverty of the black people living in Kahyelisha is very hard to hold in my head.  It made me feel better that the exhibitions at the Cape Town Art Museum on the last 20 years showed the difficulty of this contrast (whew, I'm not the only one that finds this contrast difficult).  The incredible hospitality shown visitors, white and I hope and think black too by Cape Town residents and tourists industry sticks in my head.  The teenager interpreting the microscope exhibition at the Aquarium sticks in my head because of his passion for the beautiful little life forms he was showing us.  The incredible natural beauty of Cape Town (Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula that looked so much like Point Reyes National Park near us at home, the Winelands, Kirstenbosch with the blooming Proteas) and the amazing beauty and wildlife up north at Thorny Bush (sitting in the middle of a herd of elephants, the lions, all the wildlife really were amazing because we got so close to all of them).  I found very refreshing that both blacks and whites could joke and talk about race openly.  S. Africa is way ahead of America in terms of race relations.  I found people speak about forgiveness and understand its freedom in a way that few inn America do.  All the cars are little and white.  The cappucchinos are great.  I don't know if I'm called to come here, but I am very glad I came on this two week trip.  It has shaken me up, shown me I can adapt and I am very interested in this different culture.  I missed going to Rondebosch Church and Robben Island on the first day of the tour, and today my tour to Robben Island was cancelled because of bad weather.  Maybe I'll have to come back and complete the circle, go to Rondebosch Church (I had coffee with their pastor Robert Steiner today and like everyone was impressed by his openness and joy) and go to Robben Island.